Zimbabwe: Press Statement on China’s Bilateral Support to Zimbabwe (20.11.2019)

Opinion: Museveni used to be a darling of the West…

When I read that people have trouble that Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine is liked in the West for his ideals and his vision. They shouldn’t forget that the West named President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni as a “new breed” together with President Paul Kagame in the mid-90s. It is a few decades ago and seems like a lost time. But, it is not so far away from the current time were in now.

When I read that National Resistance Movement (NRM) hard-liners and apologists says Bobi Wine is to loved in the West. The NRM wouldn’t have stabilized the economy, wouldn’t have had some economic growth or ability to built successive big-programs back-in-the-day, if it wasn’t a donor darling. The NRM wouldn’t have done this on Qaddafi funds nor the North Korean training of military brigades.

If Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and other Americans like John McCain didn’t have a soft-spot for the proxy armies of Museveni. He wouldn’t get as much funds, military support and so-on over the years in power. That’s why the same gentlemen fuzzing about Bobi Wine amplifying the diaspora, going and getting support in North America.

Should remember how Janet Museveni was stuck in Sweden during the bush-war. How the NRA tried to get support from the United Kingdom during the Bush-War. They finally got some help, reluctantly from Libya. They will not speak highly of that today, but that is a fact.

That’s why its hypocritical of Museveni and the NRM to say Bobi Wine isn’t legit, because he has support from the West. That’s because Museveni isn’t an donor darling of the West any-more. He was during the battle against the Lord Resistance Army (LRA), countering HIV/AIDs and so-on. Also the build-up of the Universal Primary Education (UPE) in the 1990s. This is all well-known now.

However, the NRM people will come with daggers, swords and harsh words for endorsements from Americans now. But they was all praise and giggly like teenagers around pop-stars, when their President and the NRM was praised by the West back-in-the-day. For all achievements, the following of policies pushed by the World Bank and International Monetary Funds. Therefore, the NRM and Museveni should look at Bobi Wine and wish it still was them. Not act like they didn’t enjoy the limelight back when.

So, when people bitch about the endorsement. Just look back at how Museveni enjoyed the love from Bill Clinton and others. It was fine when he did it and even postponed elections while being praised. Even supported the insurgencies in the DRC and Rwanda, by the same foreigners. Therefore, the NRM and Museveni should remember they used to be the darling, but is now a bitter EX.

They are like Kenzo, who still wish they had the love of Rema. But they have lost it, because of the cheating and lies. The deception and playing the guards wrongly. Even as long as the NRM and the army fights the battle the US doesn’t want in Somalia. They are still not as loved as they used too. That’s why Bobi Wine is a threat there too. Because, his a new darling and the NRM cannot accept that. Peace.

World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director visits Sudan to meet new government and sends off first barges to South Sudan (22.10.2019)

On his visit to Kosti, Beasley saw the three WFP-contracted barges loading 4,500 tons of food procured locally in Sudan.

KHARTOUM, Sudan, October 22, 2019 – The Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) David Beasley, today concluded a two-day visit to Sudan where he met leaders of the new government and travelled to Kosti to waive off the first three barges to carry humanitarian food supplies down the River Nile to South Sudan since 2011.

“This is a new dawn for Sudan, a Sudan that can positively impact the future of the whole region,” said David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme after meeting the Sudanese Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok. “WFP has been a long-time partner to the Sudanese people, and we’re ready to support the government and the people during this historic moment.”

On his visit to Kosti, Beasley saw the three WFP-contracted barges loading 4,500 tons of food procured locally in Sudan. They then sailed upriver to the South Sudanese towns of Renk, Malakal and Bor. These food supplies are enough to feed 370,000 people for one month. River transport of humanitarian goods between Sudan and South Sudan largely stopped when the border closed after South Sudan’s independence in 2011.

The resumption of river transport was made possible by collaboration between the two governments and a recognition by all parties that the transport of humanitarian assistance is vital to conflict-affected civilians in South Sudan.

Transporting goods up the Nile is cost-effective and provides an alternative to road transport between the two countries – important in the rainy season when roads can become blocked.

WFP has delivered a total of 265,000 tons of humanitarian assistance across land borders to South Sudan since 2014.

This was David Beasley’s second visit to the country since he assumed leadership of WFP in April 2017. During his visit, Beasley also met the Chairman of the Sovereign Council, Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan; Deputy Chairman of the Sudan Sovereign Council, Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Hemeti; and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Labour and Social Development and the Deputy Minister of Finance where he discussed Sudan’s historic transition and the need to expand humanitarian access across the country.

South Sudan: Troika Statement, October 2019 (21.10.2019)

The text of the following statement was issued jointly by the governments of the United States, Norway, and the United Kingdom:

South Sudan faces a critical moment in the journey toward a peaceful and prosperous future. There are now less than four weeks for political leaders to form a transitional government as they committed to in the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan. The United States, the United Kingdom, and Norway (the Troika) have consistently welcomed assurances by the parties to implement the agreement and meet its deadlines, and hoped that recent meetings between South Sudan’s leadership show a renewed spirit of cooperation. We commend the actions of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to broker the agreement and maintain momentum and take hope from the continued reduction in overall violence in South Sudan.

For too long, conflict has been waged at the expense of South Sudan’s most vulnerable and continues to exacerbate humanitarian needs. We encourage the parties, especially the current government, to take concrete steps to build trust through enhanced cooperation. With the November 12 deadline looming, extended from May, much more needs to be done urgently to ensure the success of the transitional government. Progress would help maintain the confidence of all the parties and the international community, demonstrate that the parties have the political will to work together during the transitional period, and provide the opportunity for the international community to engage productively with an inclusive, new government.

We welcome the discussions of IGAD countries in Addis Ababa last week; the region and the international community’s investment and engagement in a peaceful South Sudan remains important. The Troika will continue to stand with and support the people of South Sudan, who want and deserve peace and a government that that protects its people. We urge the South Sudanese parties to meet the November 12 deadline to form a transitional government that will enable the conditions for a constructive relationship during the next phase of South Sudan’s peace process. The UNSC visit to South Sudan offers an opportunity for the international community to discuss with South Sudanese leaders how to accelerate such progress.

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Uganda Paediatric Association: Press Release (16.10.2019)

UNHCR aids thousands of Congolese refugees returning home from Angola (08.10.2019)

UNHCR is providing returnees with transport, as well as cash assistance to help them reintegrate.

GENEVA, Switzerland, October 8, 2019 – This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Charlie Yaxley – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Thousands of Congolese refugees are returning from Angola to the Kasai region in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where fighting amongst armed groups has lessened and security conditions have improved.

The first group of a few hundred people will return as part of a voluntary repatriation, which will officially being this week, following the signing on 23 August of a tripartite agreement between UNHCR and the Governments of Angola and DRC on voluntary returns.

In total, more than 4,000 refugees are expected to be assisted to return home in the coming weeks. UNHCR is providing returnees with transport, as well as cash assistance to help them reintegrate.

Meanwhile, since 18 August, some 12,000 Congolese refugees, including nearly 7,000 children, have spontaneously returned home from the Lovua settlement in Angola’s Lunda Norte province. UNHCR is grateful to the Angolan authorities for swiftly providing the returnees with trucks to assist them with their journey back to DRC.

Many of those returning spontaneously are facing extremely challenging living conditions. UNHCR is providing them with cash assistance, as well as humanitarian aid together with provincial authorities and NGO partners, at the border town of Kalamba Mbuji, where UNHCR has set up an emergency transit centre.

Similar assistance is also being provided to returnees who have reached Kananga, the capital of Kasai Central province.

Although fighting amongst armed groups has calmed, some refugees are still uncertain about the condition in which they will find their homes. Some are unwilling to return to their homes and are moving elsewhere, as they fear a return of inter-ethnic violence.

Public infrastructure, such as schools and health centers, have been badly damaged during multiple periods of fighting and are yet to be repaired. Existing facilities lack the capacity to meet all of the needs of returnees.

UNHCR continues to support the Government of DRC’s efforts to provide and restore basic services, and to promote social cohesion and reintegration efforts. UNHCR, through our partner War Child UK, is also conducting protection monitoring in Kananga and surrounding areas to identify and profile protection concerns, and ensure adequate responses.

However, massive financial support is needed from the international community, to humanitarian organisations and to the Government of DRC, to create sustainable conditions for returnees.

Current levels of funding are far below the amount needed to allow for a major rebuilding programme. For 2019, UNHCR has received just 57 per cent of US$150 million needed to help people affected by the DRC crisis.

Somalia Partnership Forum: Communique (02.10.2019)

Somalia: The International Somalia Partnership Forum – Press Release (30.09.2019)

DRC Ebola outbreaks: Crisis update – 23 September 2019

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) declared their tenth outbreak of Ebola in 40 years on 1 August 2018. The outbreak is centred in the northeast of the country, in North Kivu and Ituri provinces. With the number of cases having surpassed 3,000, it is now by far the country’s largest-ever Ebola outbreak. It is also the second-biggest Ebola epidemic ever recorded, behind the West Africa outbreak of 2014-2016.

During the first eight months of the epidemic, until March 2019, more than 1,000 cases of Ebola were reported in the affected region. However, between April and June 2019, this number has doubled, with a further 1,000 new cases reported in just these three months. Between early June and the beginning of August, the number of new cases notified per week was high, and averaged between 75 and 100 each week; in recent weeks, this has decreased slightly, but the number of new cases are still averaging around 70-75 per week.

Latest figures – information as of 19 September 2019; figures provided by DRC Ministry of Health via WHO.

  • 3,157 TOTAL CASES
  • 3,046 CONFIRMED CASES
  • 2,111 TOTAL DEATHS

Contributing to this is the difficulty in identifying and following up contacts of people diagnosed with Ebola. Since the beginning of the epidemic, only around half of the new reported Ebola cases have been identified as contacts of previous confirmed cases before falling ill and seeking treatment, or dying without receiving proper treatment for Ebola.

On 11 June 2019, Uganda announced that three people had been positively diagnosed with Ebola, the first cross-border cases since the outbreak began. After several weeks with no recorded cases, the Ugandan government announced a new case on 29 August; the patient, a young girl, sadly died.

On 14 July, the first case of Ebola was confirmed in Goma, the capital of North Kivu, and a city of one million people. The patient, who had travelled from Butembo to Goma, was admitted to the MSF-supported Ebola Treatment Centre in Goma. After confirmation of lab results, the Ministry of Health decided to transfer the patient to Butembo on 15 July, where the patient died the following day.

On 30 July, a second person in Goma was diagnosed with Ebola; they died the next day and two more cases were announced.

In reaction to the first case found in Goma, on 17 July 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the current Ebola outbreak in DR Congo represents a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).

In mid-August, the epidemic spread to neighbouring South Kivu province – becoming the third province in DRC to record cases in this outbreak – when a number of people became sick in Mwenga, 100 kilometres from Bukavu, the capital of the province.

Given the ongoing challenges in responding to the outbreak, MSF believes that Ebola-related activities should be integrated into the existing healthcare system, in order to improve proximity of the services to the community and ensure that it remains functional during the outbreak.

Background of the epidemic

Retrospective investigations point to a possible start of the outbreak back in May 2018 – around the same time as the Equateur outbreak earlier in the year. There is no connection or link between the two outbreaks.

The delay in the alert and subsequent response can be attributed to several factors, including a breakdown of the surveillance system due to the security context (there are limitations on movement, and access is difficult), and a strike by the health workers of the area which began in May, due to non-payment of salaries.

A person died at home after presenting symptoms of haemorrhagic fever. Family members of that person developed the same symptoms and also died. A joint Ministry of Health/World Health Organization (WHO) investigation on site found six more suspect cases, of which four tested positive. This result led to the declaration of the outbreak.

The national laboratory (INRB) confirmed on 7 August 2018 that the current outbreak is of the Zaire Ebola virus, the most deadly strain and the same one that affected West Africa during the 2014-2016 outbreak. Zaire Ebola was also the virus found in the outbreak in Equateur province, in western DRC earlier in 2018, although a different strain than the one affecting the current outbreak.

First declared in Mangina, a small town of 40,000 people in northern North Kivu province, the epicentre of the outbreak appeared to progressively move towards the south, first to the larger city of Beni, with approximately 400,000 people and the administrative centre of the region. As population movements are very common, the epidemic continued south to the bigger city of Butembo, a trading hub. Nearby Katwa became a new hotspot near the end of 2018 and cases had been found further south, in the Kanya area. Meanwhile, sporadic cases also appeared in the neighbouring Ituri province to the north.

Overall, the geographic spread of the epidemic appears to be unpredictable, with scattered small clusters potentially occurring anywhere in the region. This pattern, along with the lack of visibility on the epidemiological situation, and now cases appearing in Goma and in South Kivu province, is both extremely worrying and makes ending the outbreak even more challenging.

Burundi: World Bank to finance the [Insignificant] NKURIZA

On Friday 20th September 2019, the World Bank forwarded an advance to start the Nkuriza or the Advance Agreement for Preparation of Proposed Investing in Early Years and Fertility Project Project Preparation Advance No. V2270-BI. The letter of the advance was sent to Minister of Finance, Budget and Development Planning Domitien Ndihokubwayo.

Clearly, the World Bank has been planning this project with the authorities for over a long time. Where they want to help the people of Burundi and the get the fertility rate down. Also, secure the food and nutrition in the 6 provinces of the Republic. What is also striking, the minimal advance of $350,000 USD is going to see the progress of the project and the International Development Association (IDA) going to later give a grant of $30m USD.

The World Bank knows how this regime is going about. So the WB is dropping funds and granting funds to them, as they are going into elections and having a project, which isn’t that viable. The idea and the possible plans of is ideal, but the own documentation proves that they don’t believe it themselves.

Expectation from the World Bank:

This overall project is classified as a category “B” given that activities are not expected to produce any large-scale, significant, and/or irreversible impacts” (World Bank, 30.08.2019).

Where and what:

The main project beneficiaries will consist of children under-two and women of reproductive age in 6 provinces (Bubanza, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Kirundo, Makamba and Muyinga) to reach them in the critical 1,000day window of opportunity, as most cognitive and physical development occur between conception and two years of age. Interventions related to FP will focus on both women of reproductive age and men. Other beneficiaries will include adolescent girls to reach women early and to improve their health and nutrition status prior to entering their reproductive health years. The poorest households will benefit from improvements in access to water, hygiene, sanitation and small-scale agriculture interventions” (World Bank, 30.08.2019).

What it will do:

(a) Carry out a program of technical assistance to: (i) develop Project related safeguards

instruments; (ii) study the determinants of chronic malnutrition and high fertility in project areas; (iii) develop a food composition database; (iv) undertake institutional and capacity building needs

assessments; and (v) prepare a Project implementation manual.

(b) Workshops between religious leaders and the Ministry of Health and Fight against HIV/AIDS” (World Bank, 20.09.2019).

So, its not that expect anything out of it. The project itself is positive and the needs for it surely there. However, I get automatically sceptical, when the organization donating to it, doesn’t think it will give any results. That is why you can wonder, why does the IDA grant possibly these funds and why will the WB give an advance in the first place?

Shouldn’t the same organization give funds to other projects, which is classified in another bracket, where they actually think it will have effect and get results. I understand, also that this sort of projects is hard to establish the possible results or the change in society. However, if they believe in this sort of activity. I would be as sceptical anywhere, because this seems like they are testing out something random and hoping they are able to make a difference.

In addition, they will be lucky if that happens. Since, they are not anticipating this to be the remedy. So, in one way it giving money down a wishing well, hoping someone see their prayer. Peace.